[Lekooks] Living Below the Line-Our family's experience

[Kristin Sanden]

I was asked to send out an email to share a bit of how we approached this
challenge last year in our family in hopes of making if feel less daunting
to others who might be considering it. Sorry its so LONG!

Feel free to talk to some of us who have done it...Sandens, Larsen-Lewis,
Megan Fedders, Sara and Bud Hudson and likely others

Kristin

1. There is no RIGHT way. The website gives ideas but there are lots of
ways to make this work. Some families take the money for the week and shop
just with that and only eat what they bought on Sunday (minus some
condiments/spices). Its up to you to plan it out and make sure you still
have food to eat by Friday! I think we are going to try this this year for
something different

Last year I decided not to waste food we already had and I rationalized
that in real life I would likely build up food in the pantry over weeks and
months which allowed us to have some variety rather than eat just rice and
beans every day. I also decided that I wanted to feed my family as much as
possible within my values so I didn't give up vegetables and didn't buy
cheap fake food. After a trip to Aldi I took what I had bought and what
food I already have that fell into the inexpensive category and put it on
shelves labeled as "living below the line" so the family knew they could
chose food from there.  I did pull out a bunch of off limits food out of
the pantry and stored it in a box for the week and taped off a shelf in the
fridge. I then took my receipts (and some googling of prices at Walmart)
and calculated the price per serving of food. So the milk and bread etc
were labelled. As I made recipes during the week, I labeled the leftovers
too. Everyone was in charge of their own "budget" for the day and could
then make decisions or pack their own lunches. It was a fair amount of
work, but I learned a ton about how much things actually cost (some things
I thought were inexpensive turned out no to be "worth the cost" for our
budget and felt suddenly expensive) and the feeling of making decisions
about going without so that I could have something else

Even if you do it just for 2 days thats ok! Or try it for one meal a day.
Whatever works for you and your family.

2. Its about the EXPERIENCE not about being perfect. We were over budget by
a little almost every day. It was really more about the effort  and
experiencing how hard it was at times. We had good family conversations
about what was fair game (hot lunch? Afterall, some argued, it could be
subsidized if you were low income, the potluck at work? free coffee at
work? Food from our garden?). I was also willing to make some exceptions
for the kids when they had a strenuous sports practice-however they took it
seriously and decided to stick to the plan! I found it interesting to
notice what feelings came up for me around food....what emotions came up
when I had to live with being slightly hungry? Would I be willing to give
up coffee for a few days to allow my child to have extra milk? Why is
having a variety of food options such a big deal to me? Do I buy the
factory raised eggs or do without?

3. It was hard work but FUN. I enjoyed the challenge of searching for cheap
and healthy recipes that everyone would like. I found some keepers. Even
the kids got into it

4. We learned to APPRECIATE our food. We ate more slowly and seated
together. The kids all ate their vegetables without complaint. Nothing was
wasted!

5. We all LOST WEIGHT! I thought all the carbs would pack it on, but it
turns out small portions and no second helpings was significant!

6. It was more DOABLE than we thought. In the end, Adia said, "We should do
a modified version of this all the time. Even if we cut out 25% of the food
we normally buy we would have enough and could donate money weekly". Hmmmm

7. We make some long term CHANGES. After that experience we were motivated
to make some changes. We have incorporated more vegetarian meals into our
week and I have become a fan of Aldi! I am much more aware of food that
goes to waste and I try to buy less each week to minimize that
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